Description: The digital age is giving documentary photographers extraordinary new ways to create and organize our photographic projects. This two day workshop will show how to use the new digital workflow to extend the ability of the visual storyteller. Ed Kashi will share examples of his personal projects and work with National Geographic and other major publications to illustrate the possibilities of photography as a source of passion, personal expression and communicative power. He will discuss how you develop an idea, get access to your subject, determine your objectives and present your work. The objective is to share the passions for photography and inject that spirit into the students. Digital photography is just a new tool and what is most important is to understand the traditions of photography, storytelling, narrative and intimacy so we can integrate these qualities into our work using the new tools at our disposal.

There will also be presentations and discussion on multimedia, how it fits into the convulsive landscape of media today and what and where the opportunities are for creativity and distribution of your work.

The students will view the instructor’s work, outlining the complete process of creating a project from beginning to end. Each student will be expected to bring a project, in any form, for class discussion on how to move their work forward.

“My work has been profoundly effected by the political and social issues of my time. I derive my passionate drive to commit significant time and energy to produce works that are in-depth and personal. My desire is to report on, capture and tell the stories that I believe will impact humanity in the short term and for decades to come.”

Instructor: Ed Kashi’s photographs have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Fortune, Geo, Newsweek, MSNBC.COM, and many other domestic and international publications. The multimedia story “The Sandwich Generation” was 2007 POYi Best Multimedia Feature Story or Essay and was done in collaboration with Julie Winokur.

He has several monographs, films and multimedia projects on longterm subjects including the notable Aging in America project.

Most recently, Kashi’s innovative approach to photography and filmmaking produced the Iraqi / Kurdistan Flipbook, which premiered on MSNBC.com in December 2006. Using stills in a moving image format, this creative and thought-provoking form of visual storytelling has garnered an award from the 26th annual Black Maria Film and Video Festival (2007) and will be utilized in an upcoming series of exhibitions on the Iraq War being presented at The George Eastman House.